4901-1-24
Motions for protective orders.

(A)
Upon motion of any party or person from whom discovery is sought, the
commission, the legal director, the deputy legal director, or an attorney
examiner may issue any order that is necessary to protect a party or person
from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense. Such a
protective order may provide that:

(6)
Discovery be conducted with no one present except persons designated by the
commission, the legal director, the deputy legal director, or the attorney
examiner.

(7)
A trade secret or
other confidential research, development, commercial, or other information not
be disclosed or be disclosed only in a designated way.

(8)
Information acquired through discovery be
used only for purposes of the pending proceeding, or that such information be
disclosed only to designated persons or classes of persons.

(B)
No motion for a protective
order shall be filed under paragraph (A) of this rule until the person or party
seeking the order has exhausted all other reasonable means of resolving any
differences with the party seeking discovery. A motion for a protective order
filed pursuant to paragraph (A) of this rule shall be accompanied by:

(1)
A memorandum in support, setting forth
the specific basis of the motion and citations of any authorities relied
upon.

(2)
Copies of any specific
discovery requests that are the subject of the request for a
protective order.

(3)
An affidavit
of counsel, or of the person seeking a protective order if such person is not
represented by counsel, setting forth the efforts that have been
made to resolve any differences with the party seeking discovery.

(C)
If a motion for a protective
order filed pursuant to paragraph (A) of this rule is denied in whole or in
part, the commission, the legal director, the deputy legal director, or the
attorney examiner may require that the party or person seeking the order
provide or permit discovery, on such terms and conditions as are
just.

(D)
Upon motion of any party
or person with regard to the filing of a document with the commission's
docketing division relative to a case before the commission, the commission,
the legal director, the deputy legal director, or an attorney examiner may
issue any order which is necessary to protect the confidentiality of
information contained in the document, to the extent that state or federal law
prohibits release of the information, including where the information is deemed
by the commission, the legal director, the deputy legal director, or the
attorney examiner to constitute a trade secret under Ohio law, and where
nondisclosure of the information is not inconsistent with the purposes of Title
49 of the Revised Code. Any order issued under this paragraph shall minimize
the amount of information protected from public disclosure. The following
requirements apply to a motion filed under this paragraph:

(1)
All documents submitted pursuant to
paragraph (D) of this rule should be filed with only such information redacted
as is essential to prevent disclosure of the allegedly confidential
information. Such redacted documents should be filed with the otherwise
required number of copies for inclusion in the public case file.

(2)
Two unredacted copies of the allegedly
confidential information shall be filed under seal, along with a motion for
protection of the information, with the secretary of the commission, the chief
of the docketing division, or the chief's designee. Each page of the allegedly
confidential material filed under seal must be marked as "confidential,"
"proprietary," or "trade secret."

(3)
The motion for protection of allegedly
confidential information shall be accompanied by a memorandum in support
setting forth the specific basis of the motion, including a detailed discussion
of the need for protection from disclosure, and citations of any authorities
relied upon. The motion and memorandum in support shall be made part of the
public record of the proceeding.

(E)
Pending a ruling on a motion filed in
accordance with paragraph (D) of this rule, the information filed under seal
will not be included in the public record of the proceeding or disclosed to the
public until otherwise ordered. The commission and its employees will undertake
reasonable efforts to maintain the confidentiality of the information pending a
ruling on the motion. A document or portion of a document filed with the
docketing division that is marked "confidential," "proprietary," or "trade
secret," or with any other such marking will not be afforded confidential
treatment and protected from disclosure unless it is filed in accordance with
paragraph (D) of this rule.

(F)
Unless otherwise ordered, any order prohibiting public disclosure pursuant to
paragraph (D) of this rule shall automatically expire
twenty-four months after the date of its issuance, and
such information may then be included in the public record of the proceeding. A
party wishing to extend a protective order beyond twenty-four
months shall file an appropriate motion at least forty-five days in advance of
the expiration date of the existing order. The motion shall include a detailed
discussion of the need for continued protection from disclosure.
Nothing precludes the commission from reexamining the
need for protection issue de novo during the twenty-four month period if there
is an application for rehearing on confidentiality or a public records request
for the redacted information.

(G)
The requirements of this rule do not
apply to information submitted to the commission staff. However, information
submitted directly to the legal director, the deputy legal director, or the
attorney examiner that is not filed in accordance with the requirements of
paragraph (D) of this rule may be filed with the docketing division as part of
the public record. No document received via fax
or e-filing will be given confidential treatment by the
commission.